IPL 10, Match 12, RCB v MI - Mumbai Indians Player Ratings

The Royal Challengers Bangalore played their second home game of the season. They hosted the Mumbai Indians in a key encounter at Bengaluru. A lot of eyes were on the RCB camp for one solitary reason. RCB skipper Virat Kohli was back to the team and his return had many people interested in the match. Coming into the game, the Indian skipper did not disappoint either. However, his efforts were not enough to see RCB register a win in the match.

Having won the toss, Mumbai Indians opted to bowl first. RCB openers – Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle – made a decent start in the match. However, the run flow was never in the favor of RCB. Gayle got a start but could not start the onslaught. It was a gutsy 62 off 47 balls by skipper Virat Kohli whose efforts saw RCB post 142/5 in their 20 overs.

Mumbai had a shaky start with Samuel Badree taking a hat-trick in the powerplay. With 7/4, things looked grim for the visiting side. The fifth wicket fell soon after. It was the veteran duo Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya that added 93 runs to help Mumbai Indians stage a win by 4 wickets. Here are the player ratings of MI for the RCBvMI encounter:

Parthiv Patel – 1/10

Parthiv Patel had an off day at the office for the Mumbai Indians in the match. Patel had come in to match riding on brilliant cameos in the last couple of matches. On the day, he had a very short stay at the crease. He took 8 balls for his 3 runs on the day and largely struggled against the spin bowling of Samuel Badree. He will hope that the things get better for him in the matches to follow. He can only hope that this particular game was an off game for him.

Jos Buttler – 1/10

Jos Buttler’s poor run with the bat continued. Buttler had started the season on a high as he got a brilliant 38 in the very first game for the team. Since then, he has failed to be in the best of his forms. He did get a start in another game but that was pretty much it. On the day, he had another poor outing and his string of low score only extended.

He perished to the bowling of Stuart Binny. He could only score 2 runs in the 5 balls that he faced on the day. He was the first batsman to be dismissed on the day. For Mumbai Indians to have a more dominating impact in the tournament, it is important for the openers to dominate more.

Rohit Sharma – 1/10

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma had yet another terrible time with the bat. He had an extra practice session against the spin bowling today prior to the commencement of the match. Despite his efforts, he perished to spin bowling yet again. He was dismissed for a duck by Samuel Badree. This is the fourth occasion in 4 matches when a spinner managed to get his wicket.

Rohit is a big match player and he has to get back to his supreme best for the benefit of the team. Four scores under 10 in the 4 games thus far in the tournament is definitely a poor show by his standards. Rohit Sharma needs to pull up his socks in the games to follow.

Nitish Rana – 2/10

Nitish Rana had a rare failure in the tournament. Coming into the match, he was the best batsman of the lineup. His recent form in the tournament has been great. This was the only reason why he was backed by the management to play in the middle order yet again. Having come in to play in a crunch situation, he was under immense pressure and the match would have been a test of his calibre.

However, Rana failed to deliver today. He finished with 11 runs to his name in the 16 balls that he faced. He could not deliver in the match and the young Delhi lad would definitely be upset with his own show on the day.

Kieron Pollard – 9/10

Kieron Pollard was in the firing range in the match. Many pundits believed that the match could well be his last chance in the match. The likes of Asela Gunaratne have been warming the bench and Pollard had his place in the team at stake in the match. Pollard walked in to bat the third over when Mumbai Indians were reeling 7/4. Things looked grim for the team and they were only heading towards a defeat.

However, it was his experience that came into the picture on the day and Pollard showed great character with the bat. He finished with a match-winning 70 off 47 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes to his name. He was only unlucky to have missed out on finishing the game for the side and was dismissed with a handful of runs needed to win.

Krunal Pandya – 8/10

Young all-rounder Krunal Pandya showed great character with the bat when he came in to bat at the crease. The team looked in deep shatters after Samuel Badree had rocked the Mumbai top order with a hat-trick. Pandya proved to be the ideal support for the big West Indian Kieron Pollard on the day. While Pollard kept the run flow in control, Pandya played the second fiddle to him as nurdled the ball in the park.

He remained unbeaten on 37 off just 30 balls with 3 fours and six to his name. Yet again, the Pandya brothers proved to the finishers for the team. Batting with Pollard, Krunal added 93 runs for the 6th wicket that proved to be the backbone of the run chase. Earlier with the ball, he had returned with figures of 1/21.

Hardik Pandya – 6/10

Hardik Pandya did not have much to say with the bat but he showed his skills with the ball. In the two overs that he bowled in the match, he gave away just 9 runs. He bagged the key wicket of Chris Gayle on the match. With the bat, he came towards the end of the run chase. He finished things off in style with a hammering six over long-on to seal the match for Mumbai Indians.

Harbhajan Singh – 6/10

Harbhajan Singh continued his economical spell of bowling in the match. In the previous match, Harbhajan was exceptional with the ball as he had bowled with guile and precision in the powerplay. Against the RCB, he did the same yet again. He kept things tight up front and the big Jamaican Chris Gayle had no clue against him.

In the 4 overs that he bowled today, he gave just 23 runs. His economy with the ball was well below 6 and that certainly helped his team. Albeit he did not get a wicket in the match, he managed to contain the runflow. He created the pressure first up.

Tim Southee – 1/10

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee’s poor run with the ball in the IPL continued. He was drafted in the playing eleven as Lasith Malinga was unfit on the day. Southee bowled with the new ball but was ineffective on the day. While Harbhajan Singh kept things tight in the powerplay, Southee leaked a lot of runs. Virat Kohli took special liking to his bowling. In the 2 overs that he bowled, he gave away as many as 23 runs.

Mitchell McClenaghan – 8/10

While one Kiwi had an upset day with the ball, the other Kiwi – Mitchell McClenaghan – had an impressive outing on the day. McClenaghan bowled his complete quota of 4 overs and returned with figures of 2/20. He picked the key wicket of Virat Kohli and that brought the downfall of the cruising innings. The departure of Kohli halted the momentum of the team and that ensured RCB did not post a massive total. Later in the innings, McClenaghan dismissed Mandeep Singh for a golden duck.

Jasprit Bumrah – 2/10

Jasprit Bumrah had a bad day with the ball. Bumrah was the star of the show for Mumbai Indians in the previous match. He was the strongest bowler on paper for Mumbai coming in to the match. However, he was taken for a heavy toll of 39 runs in his quota of 4 overs. Bumrah failed to penetrate through the RCB bowling. The MI camp can only hope that he gets back to his best soon in the next match.